No. 24 USC Men's Basketball Falls To Washington 84-76

Saturday, December 6

Los Angeles, Calif.

3 p.m.

USC

8-1,1-1Big Ten

Washington

6-3,1-1Big Ten

Washington

Southern California

No. 24 USC Men's Basketball Falls To Washington 84-76

December 06, 2025 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Press Conference

Jordan Marsh and Jerry Easter II finished with season-highs in points.

LOS ANGELES – No. 24 USC Men's Basketball (8-1, 1-1 Big Ten) fell 84-76 to the University of Washington Huskies (6-3, 1-1 Big Ten) in the Galen Center on Saturday, Dec. 6.

The Trojans led by as many as 18 points, but the Huskies stormed back by outscoring the Trojans 54-28 in the second half. Washington scored 40 of its 84 points in the paint and out-rebounded USC 45-31 to hand USC its first loss of the season.

Chad Baker-Mazara led the way for USC with 21 points for his fifth game with at least 20 points this season. Jordan Marsh had a season-high 17 points, while Jerry Easter II finished with a career-high 13 points to go along with four rebounds, four assists and two steals.

HOW IT HAPPENED
USC started off hot thanks to Chad Baker-Mazara sparking a 13-0 run early in the first half. Baker-Mazara accounted for all seven of USC's points in the first five minutes before Jerry Easter II and Jordan Marsh chipped in during the run. A Marsh three put USC up 16-5 with 13 minutes left in the half, then the Trojans used a balanced scoring effort to keep Washington at bay. Six different Trojans found the scoring column in the first half, including Jaden Brownell, whose second three of the half put USC ahead by 14 points, 33-19, with 6:43 remaining.

While USC's defense forced nine first-half turnovers and held Washington to just 1-for-12 from three, Baker-Mazara stole the show on offense. The graduate wing went on a personal 5-0 run late in the half, giving him 14 points and USC a 38-22 lead with 5:40 to go. USC earned its largest lead of the game off a pair of Marsh free throws to make it a 44-26 game with less than three minutes to play in the first half, then Easter finished a layup through traffic to put USC up 48-30 heading into halftime.

Washington opened the second half on a 13-0 run as the Huskies' three-point attempts finally began to fall. With USC up 48-43, Baker-Mazara got Washington center Frank Kepnang on a switch, crossed him up, and nailed a three on the right wing to open the scoring for USC.

With 14 minutes left in the game, the Trojans got their first spark of the second half off an alley-oop from Marsh to Gabe Dynes, which pushed USC's lead back to double-digits. But Washington responded with a 5-0 run. The Trojans' offense went cold for the next three minutes until Marsh — who had 10 second-half points — drove to the basket and made it a 63-54 game with 10:36 to go.

The Trojans held a 68-58 lead with 6:58 to go, but the Huskies rattled off another 13-0 run to flip the script and lead for the first time all afternoon. Another Dynes dunk made it a 71-70 game in favor of the Huskies, yet USC couldn't get closer. The Trojans made it a three-point game twice — first with a three from Marsh and then Easter made it a 79-76 game with 1:05 remaining. Trailing by four points with 37 seconds left, the Trojans missed a look from three and were forced to foul to stay alive when the Huskies corralled the defensive rebound. Washington would go on to make five free throws down the stretch to hand USC an 84-76 loss.

NOTABLES

Chad Baker-Mazara, who has made at least one three-pointer in every game this season, finished with 21 points. He also went 8-8 from the charity stripe while snagging six rebounds, two assists and two blocks.
Jordan Marsh set a season-high in scoring with 17 points while also contributing three assists.
Jerry Easter II scored 10 of his career-high 13 points in the first half, giving USC two players in double-figures in the first half. He also tied his career-highs with four assists and two steals.
Jacob Cofie finished the game with three blocks and six rebounds. This is the sixth time in nine games that he tallied three blocks.
Ezra Ausar finished the game with nine points. He has gotten a dunk in all but one game for the Trojans this season.
USC's eight turnovers were a season low.
As a team, the Trojans' bench outscored the Huskies' 29-4. However, Washington outscored USC in the paint, 40-24.
In the second half, the Trojans scored 28 points, their lowest half of scoring this season.
Washington's 54 points in the second half are the most USC has given up to an opponent this season.
USC is now 83-76 against Washington all-time and Coach Musselman is now 3-1 against the Huskies.
Today's starting lineup featured Ezra Ausar, Chad Baker-Mazara, Jerry Easter II, Terrance Williams II and Jacob Cofie. This lineup is 2-1 on the season.

QUOTABLES
Coach Eric Musselman on the shift between halves…
"I thought the first half, we followed the game plan the way we were supposed to. We bodied people up on dribble drives, but we just got away from it."

Coach Eric Musselman on moving on from the loss…
"We got to play a lot better. We got to understand how hard this league is, and when you're down three people, this talent is our three guys, you got to step up and play. That's what we have to do."

Jordan Marsh on what happened to USC in the second half…
"We just got too comfortable, plain and simple."

Jordan Marsh on his mindset against physical teams…
"I just use my speed. As you said, the team was bigger, stronger than me. So I just played my speed - it's one great attribute that I could use against them."

Jaden Brownell on what happened to USC in the second half…
"I think we got complacent. We just gotta be ready to attack right out the gate. We gotta talk about a lot, so we just gotta have a good practice tomorrow."

Jaden Brownell on what he learned from today's game…
"What's been a thing all year, you know, is defensive rebounds, so we just gotta keep focusing on that. They're a big paint team, so we gotta focus on rim protection, we're really good at that, even though it's not really showing. We just gotta get back to the standards and do that."

UP NEXT
USC will hit the road, heading to Coach Musselman's alma mater, the University of San Diego, for a non-conference game on Tuesday, Dec. 9, at 6 p.m. Fans can watch on ESPN 2 or listen through ESPN LA 710.